Slice of Life #12

This is not the Slice that I had planned to write.  I had a bad day today.  It started by being awoken by my alarm clock and went downhill from there.  I usually wake before the alarm clock goes off and savor the fifteen or twenty minutes I have to lay in bed and think about the day ahead.  Not this morning though....

After a not so good day, I read How Happy Are YOU? by Pat Johnson at Catching Readers Before They Fall.  I encourage you to take the time to read the post.  I categorize myself mostly in her second type of teacher, "these teachers have a hard time leaving the job at the door."  On my drive home tonight I thought about trying to balance my life and what I need to do in order to make that balance happen.

Then after dinner I sat down to write my post.  As I signed on to my blogger dashboard, I noticed the two most recent postings by bloggers I follow.  The first was by Maria Caplin at Teaching in the 21st Century, titled Slice of Life-Putting One Foot Forward.  From the beginning I could related to Maria's day.  She started with, "Some days are harder than others.  I'm not writing anything that is a big news flash.  But today seemed harder than most."  I felt like she was saying what I was thinking and I could really related to what she was saying.

The second blog, just below Maria's post was by Laura Komos at Our Camp Read-A-Lot.  Ironically titled, Optimism - Slice of Life #12.  I immediately had to read this because I needed some optimism in my life tonight.  Her post is about a four-time iditarod champ who is struggling to finish the race, but remains extremely positive and optimistic--just what I needed to read after a crappy day.  Thank you Laura for reminding me to stay positive.  I also related to her post because at this time of year I am feeling like the race is almost over (the school year) and I question how I will finish.  Have I done enough for my students to help them win?

Thank you Pat, Maria and Laura for helping me look for the happiness, knowing I'm not alone in my bad day and for helping me to look positively and optimistically at tomorrow and as I finish the race!